A Hobbitish Story
by Angel0624
Summary: Two facts about this book: Smaug never died and Frodo never left with Gandalf. Myrtle is the descendent of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, it's obvious as to why she craves adventure. Armed with her friend Rosie, the duo travel to the land of Dale, to visit the fabled Lonely Mountain.
1. A Hobbitish Story

~There were patchy, led colored clouds upon a blue canvas; the sun's rays shone happily down upon the small, lush, light green fields and even small people walking about them. Farmers whistled bird songs whilst a wheelbarrow led them to a sheep pen, little girls and boys ran about the playing field, kicking around a purple ball, and the elders were just rising.

Even though it was already elevensies.

The smell of greasy pork and baking sweet bread floated out of my home through the open kitchen windows, and into the Shire around us. My mother, Azaelia, was running about the kitchen, reading elevensies for my brother and I, even though she was one-hundred and twelve! I sat on the steps before our humble hobbit hole with a green door, my red, leather notebook sat on my lap and my eyes were closed, I let the sun hug me with his arms of warmth. All of a sudden something whizzed by my head and struck the door behind me, I turned quickly to find a violet ball running its way towards me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as my brother, Till, came up to me, his face was the color of fresh strawberries in summer and his breathing equated the wind in a hurricane.

He could only point, I smiled and held out the ball to him, as he left I yelled back to him "Till! Be careful with that! You know that Mr. Gamgee doesn't enjoy it when you go trumping into his spice garden after it!" I called, Till nodded and hurried back to his friends, I smiled, Till was always a troublemaker, no matter what you told him, he would do the exact opposite. I watched the children play ball for a while, finally get bored of watching the ball fly through the air I stood and walked to the small bench beside the office window and plopped down, flipping through my journal and scanning the pages.

"Alright, Myrtle, Till! Elevensies!" Azaelia called, I stood and almost ran into our home. I was still hungry from first and second breakfast. Most people think hobbits are short and fat, and, in most cases, they would be correct.

In most cases.

I am not one of those cases.

In fact, I'm not a normal hobbit. I've been told multiple times by multiple hobbits.

I'm tall for a hobbit, for a fact, I'm the tallest hobbit in my family! I am four feet and five inches tall, I'm taller than my mother by three inches! As I mentioned before, most people think hobbits are fat, I've been compared to a skeleton before. Hobbits usually have very hairy feet, mine, have very little. All of the hobbits in my family have brown hair (or blonde) but my hair is almost the color white!

The three of us sat down for elevensies and mother brought up a dreaded topic.

Marriage.

"All I'm saying, Myrtle, is that you need to start thinking about it! You need to start looking for suitable hobbits to settle down with, to start your own family. Not that I'll ever be tired of having you here, darling, but, you really need to think about your future" She said, I poked my sausage absent mindedly.

"Who would want to marry her? I mean, she's a freak" Till said, mother hit Till's arm and Till giggled as he shoved a whole, boiled egg in his mouth. There was a short pause.

"I heard that Whitfurrows hobbit has his eye on you, darling, besides he's a nice hobbit, a gentleman he is." Mother said, I sighed. Todo Whitfurrows was a hobbit I had never really met, he would always stare at me when my friend Rosie-Posie Millstone and I would catch frogs by the river. Todo was a tall hobbit, he was even taller than me! He was equipped with black hair and green eyes, along with a nice build, he was the hobbit who made all female hobbits swoon.

"Could we please not talk about this, right now?" I asked, mother nodded and Till wore a devious grin on his face.

"She doesn't want to feel any worse about herself than she already does" Till snickered, this time, mother slapped Till on the cheek.

"Now don't you say another word, you" mother growled, Till nodded and continued bombarding his mouth with food, my appetite left me. That day it was my job to go pick the weeds from the top of our hobbit hole and as I did I sat and stared at the sky. What must it be like, out there, outside of the Shire? What are those strange places I saw on the map? And, most importantly, how can I get there?

I shook my head, I couldn't leave the Shire! What was I thinking? A hobbit in a big, wide world like that? I'd be squished or squashed or eaten or made into jam! I sighed and yanked a weed free from the ground, what was wrong with weeds?

Just because they're different from grass doesn't mean they're bad.

I threw the weed behind me and rubbed my face, I stood to turn and walk to the other side of the roof when I lost my footing and tumbled down our home, landing on the stone path to the green, front door. I laid on my back for a moment, breathing and waiting for the world to stop spinning like a merry-go-round. That's when I heard Mr. Gamgee's curses, Till had gone into his garden again. I sluggishly pulled myself to my feet and stumbled to the brown fence, there was a sign on the fence that was never explained to me _'No admittance, except on party business'_. Mr. Gamgee came up to the fence, holding Till's pointed ear "I'm...I'm sorry, Mr. Gamgee, what did he do this time?"

"The little bugger ran into my spice garden again! You must keep him on a leash, Miss. Baggins, or he'll _really_ get into trouble!" Mr. Gamgee growled, I nodded and stood away from the fence. Mr. Gamgee sighed and pushed Till into our yard "Miss. Baggins, I'd like to have a word with you, in my home" I nodded wearily and pulled Till inside, I pushed him in and yelled to mother where I was going, she nodded and smiled.

~Mr. Gamgee lived on Bagshot row, the neighborhood before my home, Bag-end. Mr. Gamgee's door was yellow and his home was smaller than Bag-end. We sat in plushy chairs by his fireplace where he served lemon tea and pastries. "You know, Myrtle, I didn't want to just discuss Till whilst you're here" Mr. Gamgee said, biting into a pastry. "I wanted to discuss your great-great-uncle, your great-great-uncle, Bilbo Baggins, was not different from you, not much anyways.

He went on an adventure, and what an adventure it was! He met a wizard named Gandalf the Grey and he agreed to be a burglar for the company of Thorin Oakenshield. Well, the company set off for the Lonely Mountain also known as the Dwarfish kingdom as Erebor, for; the dragon Smaug had taken it over and killed all those within. So, they all set off and your great-great-uncle saved their hides more than once! It was a dangerous road, but, they finally made it and Bilbo was sent into the Lonely Mountain to retrieve the Arkenstone!

The greatest jewel there is, was, and ever will be! Anyways, your great-great uncle Bilbo got it away from the dragon Smaug, and Smaug became so angry that he attacked the town of the lake men below, but, as much as the lake men tried, Smaug the all powerful could not be killed! Smaug's armor was made of the gold, jewels and valuables he wallowed in, his claws were iron, his teeth were as white as snow, yet, as sharp as a prickly hornspofel! His wings, Myrtle, his wings created hurricanes, thousands of hurricanes with each beat! And now, I come to the most deadly part of the dragon Smaug, his fire.

His fire, Myrtle, was equivalent to one trillion, summer, noon day suns!" Mr. Gamgee paused and I felt my heart beat accelerate, sweat poured from my forehead, I could practically feel the heat from Smaug's fire licking at my back.

"H-how was he stopped?" I asked in a meager voice, but I desperately wanted to know more! Mr. Gamgee smiled.

"They bargained with him. Which is very hard to do, you know, bargaining with a dragon. They surrendered completely, which, didn't satisfy the dragon Smaug, then, they gave him all of their gold and precious gems and crowned him King Under the Mountain. That's when Smaug the dragon gobbled up Thorin Oakenshield and Fili and Kili, Thorin's cousins, ending the line of Durin." Finished Mr. Gamgee a little too casually.

"T-That's it? What happened to Bilbo?" I asked, sitting straighter in the chair, Mr. Gamgee chuckled.

"Easy child, easy! Your great-great-uncle Bilbo came back to the Shire to find they were going to sell Bag-end! He bought everything back and adopted your great grandfather, Frodo Baggins." Mr. Gamgee said with a smile, I smiled too, I knew my great grandfather's story. He and Mr. Gamgee's father saved Middle Earth by throwing the ring of power back into Mount Doom, in Mordor.

~I thanked Mr. Gamgee and left, I smiled to myself. I knew what I was going to do.

I packed my things quietly as mother and Till slept that night, wrapping up an extreme amount of food and all of my money as well. I crept out of Bag-end wearing a dark green hood and a dark green leaf pendent that I was given, mother told me it was my great grandfather Frodo's. I took up a walking stick and smiled at the full moon as I walked out of Hobbiton. All of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder rip me back, I turned to find Rosie-Posie standing behind me, bag on her back, wrapped in a cloak, and a walking stick in her hand. "Rosie!

What are you doing here?" I growled in a whisper, we stood just outside the boarders of Hobbiton.

"I think the real question is why didn't you tell me you were leaving the Shire?" She asked, her brown hair gleaming in the moonlight, her blue eyes stared at me hard as I searched for an answer.

"I just decided it today, besides, you love the Shire, I am not in love with it anymore. I'm going on an adventure" I whispered to her, smiling, she shook her head playfully.

"But, I love you more than I love the Shire, you're my best friend, I could go so far as to call you my sister! You're not going anywhere alone, Myrtle." She whispered, I smiled and we began walking again. By second lunch we reached Bree and stopped at a legendary pub named 'The Prancing Pony', the pub was littered with drunk men, scary, drunk men. Rosie and I got a table and ate slowly. "So, where are we going, anyways?" She asked, shoving a roll into her mouth. I smiled.

"Dale" I answered, her food fell out of her hands.

"Dale? Why Dale?" She asked in a hushed tone. Again, I smiled.

"Rosie, my great-great-uncle was Bilbo Baggins and my great-grandfather was Frodo Baggins! I'm an adventurer, besides, I want to go see it, I want to see the Lonely Mountain and see the fabled Dale. Maybe even catch sight of a dragon or two" I answered with a smile. Rosie shook her head and laughed.

"We're going on an adventure" she said with a grin, we hit together our mugs and drank up, I coughed and hacked, it was my first time trying rum.


	2. Chapter Two: Ugly, Stinking, Trolls

~Rosie and I took up rooms at 'The Prancing Pony' that night, they even had hobbit sized rooms! In the morning, after second breakfast, however we had to leave, and by dinner she and I were in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.

Until we saw a bridge.

"Wait!" I cried, ripping a map out of my pack, I had taken the map from a frame in my home; "that's the last bridge...we're leaving the Shire!" I cried, jumping up and down and hugging Rosie, we probably looked manic, jumping up and down and cheering. We both ran forwards as the sun began to give his throne to the moon, the became colder now, but, we didn't care, we were making progress! We hugged each other tightly and smiled as we both stepped off of the last bridge and onto Midgewater.

Rosie now had the map and I watched her face fall "what's the matter?" I asked, coming down from my high of excitement.

"We're entering troll territory, Myrtle. We didn't bring weapons, we'll surely be killed!" Rosie cried, I rushed to her side and smiled. I grasped her shoulders and turned her to me.

"Hey, listen, my great-great-uncle Bilbo fought against trolls, he distracted them until the sun rose and saved a company of thirteen dwarves! He didn't do it with weapons, and if he can do it without weapons, we can do it without weapons. We're hobbits for goodness sakes! We can sneak around them if we want, trolls are clumsy and stupid, we could easily slip away." I assured, Rosie smiled and nodded.

"Alright...wait, how do you know all of that?"

"My great-grandfather Frodo told me some stories before he passed on to paradise" I said as we began to walk again.

~Two hours later and Rosie and I had been engulfed by trees, we walked slower, so as to not make as much noise. I held the map and smiled "look, Rosie, there's Rivendell! That's where all the elves live! My great-great-uncle Bilbo and my great-grandfather Frodo both had encounters in Rivendell, Elrond is the elf who established it, he's still the highest elf there today" I said, staring at the map.

Rosie nodded absent mindedly, she didn't care.

Soon, Rosie and I heard loud trees snapping, we both gasped and we ran deeper into the forest, away from the path. I shoved her to the ground behind a bush, where we both hid in silent wait for a troll.

We didn't have to wait long.

Four of them, big, horrible, ugly, stinking trolls. Their skin was a greenish grey and they wore dirty, greasy rags for clothes. Warts and scars covered their bodies and two of the trolls carried at least ten deer whilst the other two carried herbs and pots. Rosie and I barely breathed. One of them stopped on the road "Oy, what's the hold up?" Another one asked, turning to see his comrade stationary.

"I...smell...somethin'. I've never smelt it before, but it smells good" The stationary one said, Rosie grasped my hand and squeezed. The other three began smelling the air as well.

"Hey! I smell it too! It smells sweet, almost like a strawberry...I like strawberries." One holding the deer said, the one that held the pots smacked the one holding the deer in the head.

"Shut up! You're going to scare it away!" The troll with the pots said. They stayed for a few more moments before hearing something else move and hurriedly following it, Rosie and I hid for around twenty more moments before hesitantly stepping on the road again, all of a sudden I heard a deep voice yell.

"Now!" And I was picked off of the ground. Rosie screamed as she too was lifted from the road, I was too much in shock to scream. The troll holding me smelt me and smiled.

"It's this one! This one smells like strawberries!" I balled my right hand into a fist and punched the troll in the nose, the troll laughed and sniffed me again.

"Myrtle! Help!" Rosie screamed, her voice was horse with fear.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, biting the troll's thumb that held me. He cried and dropped me, thankfully, I landed on my feet, when I did I ran into the woods and gathered some of the biggest rocks I could find, holding them close to me and running back to the road, all of the trolls were turned to Rosie, and tears streamed down my best friend's face.

She thought I abandoned her.

I put the rocks on the road and lifted the biggest one, taking aim, and chucking it at my friend's captor's head. He cried out and Rosie went sailing to the ground. She landed and I soon found all four trolls running after me! I climbed into the trees and remembered something my great-great-uncle Bilbo did when he saved all thirteen dwarves from the spiders of Mirkwood.

He sang.

_"Old, fat spider spinning in the trees, old, fat spider can't see me! Attacop, attacop, won't you stop? Stop your spinning and look at me! Old, dumb, naughty, old, big, body, old, dumb, naughty can't spy me! Attacop, attacop, down you drop, you'll never catch me up your tree!" _

That is the song my great-great-uncle Bilbo sang, however, I sang a different tune.

_"Big, fat trolls wallowing away, big, fat trolls won't you come and play? Attacop, attacop, follow me! Follow me, if you can! Big, stupid, clumsy, big, old, nutty, big, stupid, clumsy can't find me! Haha! Attacop, attacop, you big fop, you'll never catch me anyway!"_

I sang, laughing and jumping from branch to branch, causing the trolls to run after me, their big, sweaty feet torturing the ground with ever step. The rhyme wasn't the best in the world, but, it served its purpose, the trolls roared in anger and began pushing down trees as my feet left their branches, they were getting close.

_Too _close.

I gasped as the final branch came into view, I sighed and changed tactics. I jumped to my left, barely making it onto a large, fat branch. I knew I wouldn't make it long, the forest was only so big! But, I wanted Rosie to get away, she couldn't handle the pressure or the anxiety of being captured. All of a sudden the tree I was on...broke.

I screamed and fell to the ground, landing on my back, I coughed and hacked as I tried to get my breath back; all four of the trolls stood over me, grins on their faces. "_Attacop, attacop_...we got you!" The lead troll yelled, pausing between 'attacop' and 'we', obviously searching for a rhyme. I breathed slowly and then the lead troll lifted me from the ground with his pointer finger and thumb. "I've never smelt a being like you before!

...What are you?" He asked. I felt the fingers of fear enclosing me as I was held upside down and forced to hold my shirt down.

"I'm a...a...hobbit! I'm a lady hobbit!" I yelled, the trolls grinned, something that resembled and smelt like horse dung covered their teeth.

"Ah, hear that, lads? We got ourselves a_ lady_" the lead troll said, all three of the others snickered.

"Yeah, I'm probably the only one you'll ever get...or ever have gotten!" I yelled, the three trolls laughed, but the lead troll scowled at them, hurriedly ending their laughter.

"Well, Miss. Hobbit, you're in time for a lovely feast." The troll said, throwing me up into the air and catching me right side up.

"What is it?" I asked groggily, my vision blurred for a moment and my brain muddled.

"You!" All of the trolls cried, laughing.

~I was stuck in a cage made of iron and wood, oak, to be precise. I was just glad it wasn't Rosie. I was yanking at the iron bars, hoping at least one would give way.

None did.

I retorted to banging my feet and head on the bars, hoping to either break free or kill myself. By the moon, it was around midnight when one of the trolls approached me, he carried a large, wooden spoon with something in it; he poured the liquid into a small cup (my size cup) and pushed it through the bars. "Try it" he said, his voice was higher compared to the other trolls "go on, I think I may need more salt, but, my taste buds have gone lame" his eyes gleamed in the fire light the other three trolls had built, this troll didn't look like a troll at all; he didn't look stupid or clumsy, he was different. I smiled and gently lifted the golden cup off of the ground. As I held it to my lips, I tasted ginger, parsley, saffron, cinnamon, rabbit, corn, and pepper; it did, indeed, need salt.

When I lowered the cup again, I coughed. "It does need.." I trailed off, all of the trolls were gone and the lid of my cage was open! "Salt" I finished in a whisper, glancing around, I saw no sign of them, then again, I didn't see them when Rosie and I were getting back on the road; this could be a trick.

But, what reason would they have to trick me now? I was caged up. Well, not anymore.

My curiosity got the best of me and I climbed out of the cage to find the words 'attacop, attacop' written in the dirt before my cage, above the words 'attacop, attacop' were the words 'come this way', above those words were 'attacop, attacop' and above these were 'don't you stray' again there were more words! The rhyme in it's entirety went like so:

_"Attacop, attacop come this way. Attacop, attacop, don't you stray. Attacop, attacop, don't be afraid, attacop, attacop, I am only here to aid."_

The words led back to the road where my fallen pack waited for me, I smiled and threw it on my back, only ending we me falling to the ground. There was something heavy inside, very heavy! I turned it around and opened it to find weapons!

Swords, knives, slingshots, arrows, a bow, and rocks were packed into my bag! But, who was the kind soul who gifted me these weapons and saved me from the trolls? Who could take on four trolls at a time without virtually making a sound? I smiled again and lifted on my pack, almost falling over, but catching myself on a tree.

I removed a few rocks and stood at the road in indecision. Should I go look for Rosie or continue my trek to Dale alone?


	3. Chapter Three: A New Way of Transport

~All of a sudden, I spotted a horse across the road, a beautiful, snowy white horse with ankles the color of the night and eyes as blue as the sky. It hurried across the road and sniffed me, then it grasped the front of my shirt and threw me on its back! I cried out as the horse reared and began running quickly out of the forest, I hung on to it's mane for dear life itself! The horse ran at a pace that the fastest elf couldn't achieve! Trees and bushes and rocks and animals where nothing but blurs on a brown landscape and all I could hear was the horse's labored breathing.

Within the hour, the horse had taken me out of Trollshaws and we were now closing in on River Bruinen (also known as Loudwater). The horse stopped at the rushing river and the weight of my pack (and gravity) yanked me down from the horse's back and I fell on_ my_ back, groaning as I felt something sharp stab my side. Sluggishly, I unraveled my arms and crawled to the water's edge, the water was crystal clear and out of it my reflection shone perfectly, like a mirror. I cringed at my appearance, my hair was splattered with mud and dirt and leaves, my clothes were stained with water, sweat and soil and my hands were caked in goodness knows what! Only in this time of peace did I realize how starving I was!

My stomach roared and bellowed as I stood in the river, letting the warm water rush over my toes and feet. The horse walked into the water and bumped me, the map in it's mouth, I thanked it and opened the map up; we were only a little ways from Rivendell! My, we might see elves about now! I smiled as I thought of meeting Elrond and asking about my great-great-uncle Bilbo, or just meeting an elf! That's when the anxiety began to kick in.

I was so far away from home! Far from my mother, Till, or anyone else, and I certainly had no idea of where my best friend was! Oh, bugger! Now, the horse nudged me again and I spotted something I had only read and been told about.

An Orc.

This Orc was light green and its face was distorted to the point where I couldn't discern where its eyes were! The Orc wore some type of brown hide as trousers and carried an iron shield, many swords, and much food; my stomach screamed again at seeing the delicacies on the Orc's back.

The Orc glanced up from whatever it was preying upon on the ground and we locked eyes for a moment. My breath was stuck in my throat and my entire body trembled, my jaw quivered, and my fingers and toes both went icy cold.

I thought I even felt my heart stop!

The Orc came forwards, out of the limited trees, and stepped up to the bank of the river.

I was paralyzed, I was paralyzed out of fear and shock; the Orc came ever closer, only when the Orc stepped into the warm water of the Bruinen River did I snap out of this deadly paralysis. I jumped back and the Orc growled, I hurried out of the river and the snowy white horse ran before me, rearing up on its hind legs and kicking the Orc in the head with its hooves. The Orc fell to the ground, growling curses in another tongue, and I ran.

I ran across the river and I ran through fields, I had no concept of where I was or where I was going; for, I had forgotten my pack at the river's edge. I ran until dusk came and I could no longer see my hand in front of my face! The air was chill and crisp, despite the warm temperatures during the day, and the grass crunched under my feet as I rubbed my arms in desperate attempts to keep warm. I had taken off my cloak in order to stand in the river, I didn't want it to get wet. A good load that did me!

A good load running did me!

Then I took one more step forwards and slammed into something, hard. I rubbed my aching forehead before sticking my arms out and feeling the object. Whatever I hit, it was big and it was stone. I sighed and found the underside of whatever it was, I crawled underneath and curled up into a ball, closing my eyes and preparing myself for a long, sleepless night.

~Trolls!

I slept under trolls!

They were the very same trolls my great-great-uncle Bilbo turned to stone!

I stared at them in drowsy stupefaction as the sun began to yawn and stretch his arms, reclaiming his place in the sky where Luna had kept watch all night. I rubbed my eyes and walked around them many times, wondering how my great-great-uncle could've kept them busy for so long and not been eaten! All of a sudden I heard the snapping of twigs and the crunch of feet upon grass, I gasped and hid behind one of the statues, hoping I hadn't been spotted. A few moments of silence ensued before I gathered the courage to peek around the troll, I screamed in shock and happiness as Rosie stood before me. "Rosie!"

I screamed, throwing my arms around her; she did the same. "Oh, how did you find me? Where have you been?" I asked, pulling away from her, as I stared at Rosie I saw something off about her. Rosie's blue eyes were_ glowing_!

Literally glowing!

"Oh, I heard you cry out yesterday and I came to find you" she said, her speech had changed as well, it seemed her entire demeanor was off. "As for me, I've been wandering around the woods, looking for you...where have you been?"

"I saw this horse, Rosie, and it grabbed me and threw me on its back, and then it took me to Loudwater where I saw an Orc,_ a real Orc_, Rosie! I was so scared, but, the horse saved me and I ran, I ran away as fast as I could...oh, I do hope that horse is alright" I said, turning and looking in the direction from whence I came. Rosie placed her hand on my shoulder, and turned my face back to her, her fingers gently ghosting over my jawline...this wasn't like her at all.

"The horse is fine, I saw it, it gave me this and then ran back into the woods" Rosie said, holding up my pack, I smiled and took it up again, bending over from it's weight. Rosie smiled and took back the pack. "I'll hold it" she added, putting it on with ease; I nodded and we began walking.

~"When did you become so strong? Back in Hobbiton you couldn't lift a brick without gasping for breath!" I cried, smiling, Rosie smiled too, but it soon faded. She shrugged and we walked in silence, that is, until we saw the Last Homely House West of the Mountains...Rivendell.

My jaw dropped at seeing this astonishing feat of elvish ingenuity! It was surrounded by diamond waterfalls and lush vegetation. Rivendell itself was made out of precious stones and rocks; the sun shot his rays down into the valley which held Rivendell and it the Last Homely House just right, causing it to glisten and reveal much more of it's already breathtaking glory. Rosie grasped my hand and smiled, pulling me towards the elvish empire. "Wait...we're going in?"

I asked quickly, turning from her to the home, she laughed. "Of course, you wanted to...correct?" She asked, her face turning from confident to worried in a matter of seconds, this _really_ wasn't like Rosie. With her it was either you do what you said you would do, or you face the consequences.

"Yes, but, that was a fantasy...now that I'm actually here I...I don't know if I want to disturb them.." I said softly, listening to the rush of water all around me. Rosie smiled again and kissed my hand, pulling me gently behind her.

~We stood at the doors that closes off Rivendell to us, my brain was so rattled that I could hardly believe this! My stomach made a loud, unearthly noise, I hadn't eaten dinner, first breakfast, second breakfast, or elevensies! I needed food, and fast. Rosie knocked and two tall guards with sparkling blonde hair answered, the armor they wore was even more polished than their hair! Their eyes were a jade green and I found myself marveling at the vibrancy of the color.

Rosie spoke in elvish tongue! Rosie didn't even know elvish...or...so I thought. I picked out key words that she said 'Bilbo', 'Dale', 'Hobbit', and 'Smaug'. Rosie narrowed her eyes at the guards and her eyes _changed color_!

They turned from a cool blue to a fiery orange in a matter of two seconds! The guards nodded and stood the side, Rosie's eyes turned back to their natural state, she smiled to me, took up my hand, and led me inside.

...Should I be afraid?


	4. Chapter Four: The Last Homely House

~~My heart jumped into my mouth and as my mouth opened I feared that everyone could hear its noisy beating. It reverberated in _my_ ears, anyways. Rosie and I were led straight to a large, cherry wood dining table and two lady elves with black hair and shimmering blue eyes gave us chairs specially made for hobbits! (They had several cushions on them, so that we could see over the large table) This dining area had several openings that acted as windows, the entrance into the valley could be seen, along with four fantastic waterfalls. Rosie smiled at my stupefaction.

Finally, I gulped and shook my head "we're really here" I whispered, Rosie reached over and held my hand, patting it softly. Now, Rosie's changes was brought to my attention once more "Rosie" I said softly and she turned to me, her blue eyes still glowed like a star in the night sky. "You've never known how to speak Elvish...or, that's what you told me" I said, she sighed and took her hand back, rubbing her face.

"Mr. Gamgee taught me some Elvish, I told him about our trip before we left and he taught me" She said casually as the two elvish ladies brought over many, many plates of food.

"How did you know we were going on this trip? I never told you, I never told anyone! I made the decision _in my head_, you're not going to tell me that you're a psychic now, are you?" I asked and Rosie burst into a fit of laughter, but, her laughter was a few pitches off from normal Rosie laughter. Rosie's laughter was high and nasally, this laughter was deeper and more masculine.

Man laughter.

But it came from _her_.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" I asked, scooting farther away from her, Rosie shook her head, a smile still upon her face.

"No, no, oh, I'm fine, Myrtle, I'm fine." She whispered, smiling to me. I highly doubted that statement. All of a sudden the sound of heavy, stone doors opening reverberated about the room; Rosie and I turned to see an older elf with long, greying, black hair. His eyes were the color of warm mud in the summer and he wore a robe that would send rubies into shame by the vibrancy of the red colour.

Gold embellishments added to the robe's grandeur.

Rosie and I stood upon the cushions of our chairs and awaited this elf; could my eyes be deceiving me? Was this really happening? This elf was Lord Elrond! The elf smiled and captured us into hugs, walking to his grand chair and sitting (Rosie and I sat again too) he smiled once more. "So, you are Miss. Myrtle Baggins?"

Lord Elrond asked, looking to me as he ate a tossed salad. I nodded quickly, he chuckled. "Are you nervous or excited?" He asked me, I giggled.

"Excited, very excited" I said as one of the lady elves put salad on my plate and another gave some salad to Rosie. Elrond smiled once again.

"No doubt you want to learn about Bilbo, do you not?" Asked he, I nodded. Elrond sighed and to the tune of a flute Elrond told us of Bilbo's many triumphs. Running after the company of Thorin Oakenshield, fighting the trolls, the spiders of Mirkwood, the conversation with the dragon Smaug, the desolation of Dale, the War of the Fives, and the return journey. I did not touch a piece of lettuce on my plate I was so intrigued!

Elrond smiled at the end of those wonderful tales "now, Smaug the all powerful has a son." Elrond said, I leaned closer. "Smaug the first mated with a shape shifter, who died during childbirth; so now it is just Smaug the fist and Smaug Jr." finished Elrond, smiling to Rosie and I, I nodded and turned to Rosie to find that she was staring at her hands and her entire plate was cleaned! "So, Miss. Baggins, where do you and your friend plan on going?"

"Dale. We plan to go to Dale" I said, Elrond's face fell from happiness to shocked realization.

"Why would you want to go there?" Elrond hissed, his change of tone frightened me. Rosie grasped my hand and smiled, her glowing blue eyes softening.

"We're on an adventure, Peredhil, we're going to see the Lonely Mountain and then we'll return to the Shire" Rosie said, a growl in her voice. A silence ensued after this, a silence that consisted of Lord Elrond and Rosie narrowing their eyes at one another; Lord Elrond glanced away first. He sighed and shook his head.

"Even though the one ring was destroyed a thin layer of orcs still roam the mountains and Mirkwood is not completely cured of its sickness. Evil things still walk Middle Earth, Miss. Baggins, and if you're not ready, you will die." Lord Elrond said, again a silence occurred, and it did not cease until Rosie grasped my hand and pulled me away from the table.

"Sorry, Peredhil, we have a long road before us, good bye" Rosie called as she dragged me to the door, Lord Elrond stood.

"Be careful, Miss. Baggins, be_ very_ careful" Lord Elrond called as the doors to the elvish empire shut behind us.

~ "Maybe this was a mistake" I whispered that night as Rosie and I sat around a small fire she built earlier. The mountains climbed high into the sky and yet, Rosie and I still sat at their feet. Like children sit before their grandparents as they tell them stories of long forgotten times. "Maybe we should go back to the Shire" I whispered again, Rosie stood and sat beside me as I laid in the dry, warm grass. Rosie shook her head and leaned over me.

"No, we can't now, we're already past Rivendell. Don't worry, we've got weapons now, and if anyone tries to hurt you, I'll be here" she said with a smile, I smiled and the memory of the strange happening with the trolls was brought up to my mind. I sat up on my elbows and faced her, then, I told her what happened and she grinned. She said nothing, but, she smiled and quite a large smile at that.

~ It seemed the days melted into one another, I couldn't decipher if it was Monday or Wednesday! Days dripped into nights and it seemed we were going nowhere. The Misty Mountains surrounded us, every way you turned there was a mountain! That is, until we got to the High Pass and once again I felt the sun kissing my cheeks and hugging me. Too long Rosie and I bathed in the shadows of the mountains, my skin turned pale and I was cold, constantly cold!

The mountains soaked up the sun's warmth and hid his outstretched arms, the mountains even hid little Luna from Rosie and I!

One night, as Rosie and I huddled close to the flames of the fire a strong wind (that was not uncommon) blew in between the mountains, quenching our fire and leaving Rosie and I in total darkness. Rosie and I both attempted many times, but our fire wouldn't breathe again, the wind was too strong. Rosie, somehow, was fine despite this, she never shivered a bit! I, on the other hand, was uncontrollably shivering and quaking, soon, I couldn't feel my fingertips or my toes! Rosie quietly stood and picked up some long sticks, standing them up against the mountain she created two walls. Using more wood and grass she created a ceiling and helped me inside.

Rosie walked over to a small tree and glanced about her, almost as if she were paranoid. Next, she _ripped the bark right off of the tree_! And casually walked back over to me; she yanked the bark in place and laid down, pulling me down beside her and wrapping her arms around me. I couldn't wrap my brain around how warm she was!

~Getting back to High Pass; Rosie and I walked out together and the first thing I did was run around in the sunshine. Rosie smiled and watched from afar as I fell on a bed of grass and soaked up the sunshine.

~A week passed and Rosie and I just set foot over the bridge of the Old Ford River.

From where we stood the forest of Mirkwood was plainly visible.

"All we have to do now is get through Mirkwood and walk along the river until we reach Dale, Rosie, we're_ so_ close!" I cried in excitement.

I should've slowed down and heeded more of Lord Elrond's advice than I did.

Evil things do still roam in Mirkwood.


End file.
